


Cordial Acquaintances

by BucksomeBarnes (Freckled_Halos)



Series: the Assembled Avengers Initiative [18]
Category: Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Beer, Bucky Barnes & Sam Wilson Friendship, Bucky Barnes is good with Kids, Eating, Empathy, Enemies to Friends, Frenemies Bucky Barnes & Sam Wilson, Gen, M/M, Male Bonding, Museums, Rating for Language, Science Nerd Bucky Barnes, Singing, bird nerd sam wilson, day trip, lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-24
Updated: 2019-03-24
Packaged: 2019-11-29 04:24:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18218174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Freckled_Halos/pseuds/BucksomeBarnes
Summary: Steve's planned an afternoon at the Natural History Museum for himself, Bucky, and Sam, but when he's suddenly called away, Steve encourages his boyfriend and his best friend to still spend the day together without him.





	Cordial Acquaintances

**Author's Note:**

> i hyperlinked a youtube video towards the end to hopefully make some singing along make more sense ;)

“I’m sorry,” Steve sighed as he clasped his utility belt on. “I know it’s poor timing, but when you hear MODOK is up to some shit, someone has to check it out.”

“Shouldn’t that be SHIELD’s problem?” Bucky whined from the couch.

“It’s _all_ our problem,” Steve immediately replied, tying the laces of his boots.

Bucky groaned and rolled his eyes.

“You’ll be fine,” Steve said with a hint of impatience in his voice as he stepped towards the couch. “I should be back tonight, tomorrow morning at the latest.”

“Do you want to ask if anyone else wants our tickets for today? Might as well not waste them.”

The Natural History Museum in the city was running a film on deep space and when Bucky excitedly mentioned it to Steve a few weeks ago, he had instantly purchased tickets. They set aside a whole day for it, time for the museum, maybe a walk through Central Park, then dinner, probably at some hipster place in Brooklyn before making the long drive home.

“Oh, I already figured that out,” Steve answered, nonchalantly. “I gave Sam my ticket.”

“Who’s he gonna go with?” Bucky asked.

“You.”

Bucky stared blankly up at Steve who had a dumb smile plastered on his face.

“No.”

“Come on, Buck,” Steve sighed. He looked down to where Bucky was sitting, cross-legged on the cushions, giving Steve a controlled expression of irritation and desperation. Steve put his hands on his hips. “It’ll be fun, I promise.”

“Steve—”

“Do this for me,” Steve said and Bucky’s resistance faltered. “Please.”

Bucky let out an unnecessarily long sigh.

“You are two of the most important people in my life,” Steve went on. “And I want you to be friends.”

Scoffing, Bucky opened his mouth to reply when Steve interrupted, adding, “Okay, fine, maybe that’s too much right now. How about cordial acquaintances?”

“We’ll see,” Bucky grumbled.

“That’s the spirit. “ Steve smiled and leaned in to give Bucky a kiss goodbye. After their lips parted, Steve scooped up his helmet and shield from the foyer and slipped out the door with a small, two-fingered salute and drawn out “Love you!”

Bucky flopped back onto the cushions, crossing his arms.

This was suspicious.

They had planned the afternoon weeks in advance and now, the morning of, Steve suddenly has a mission in DC? Alone? And he conveniently was able to give his ticket to _Wilson_ who happened to have his day free too? Bucky told himself not to overthink it and to give Steve the benefit of the doubt. Maybe it really was just poor timing.  

After finishing a bowl of oatmeal, Bucky reluctantly got dressed, pulled his hair back, slid a glove on his left hand, and made his way to the common room down on the second floor.

Sam turned from where he was lounging in one of the armchairs upon hearing Bucky approach. He was smiling excitedly, until realizing that Steve wasn’t with him.

“Where’s Cap?” He asked, standing.

Bucky sighed. “He had to leave for a mission, but wants us to go without him.”

They stared at each other for a few moments, both expressions already annoyed.

“Didn’t he buy these like, weeks ago?” Sam asked, suspicious himself.

Shrugging, Bucky replied, shaking his head. “Yeah, but, y’know. _Duty calls_ or whatever.”

Sam let out a long breath. “Should we invite someone else? To use his ticket?”

Bucky stared, calculating. “ _You’re_ using his ticket.”

“No,” Sam said, crossing his arms. “He told _me_ that the three of us were going together. I thought it was kind of weird, third-wheeling your date, but he guilted me into saying yes. You know. Like he does.”

Quirking his eyebrows, Bucky replied, “Yeah, well, _I_ was under the impression it was just going to be me and him.”

Sam narrowed his eyes, studying Bucky’s expressionless face. “You think he planned this?”

“Oh, definitely,” Bucky answered, amused, but still irritated.

“He pull that ‘you’re the most important people to me’ bullshit with you too?”

“Yep.”

“Of course,” Sam muttered, running a hand down his face. After a few moments in thought, he looked honestly into Bucky’s eyes and said, “Normally, I would say fuck this and be pissed off about being played like that, but…it’s Steve. And I’m willing to spend the day with _you_ if it makes him happy and gets him to shut up about it. Deal?”

Bucky watched as Sam slowly held out his hand. Taking a firm hold of it, Bucky replied, “Deal.”

They made their way down into the compound’s garage. There was a locked box of keys to all the Stark SUVS just inside the doorway and Bucky reached to unlock it with his thumbprint.

“Woah,” Sam started, sticking his hand between Bucky and the lock. “You are not driving.”

Eyes sliding slowly from his hand to his face, Bucky glared at Sam. “That’s not up to you,” he said coolly.

“Like hell it isn’t,” Sam responded, pressing his own thumb to the pad. The latch opened and Sam snatched the first pair of keys he could get his hands on before quickly shutting it again. “Dude, have you ever even _had_ a driver’s license?”

Bucky gave him a stony look. “I’ve been driving since before your parents were born, Wilson, just give me the fucking keys.”

Sam stared back, crossing his arms. “Nah.”

He turned on his heel and strolled along the row of parked SUVs, stopping at the sleek black Escalade at the end. Bucky let out an irritated breath as he followed, trying to remind himself how much he loved Steve and that this was for him. Sam was already inside, turning the ignition as Bucky slipped into the passenger door, settling into his seat, unbuckled.

He saw Sam notice, think about saying something, then decide not to before he put the car in reverse and rolled out of the garage.

It was at least a two hour drive into the city from the upstate facility and it was already painfully clear to both of them it was going to be a _very_ long two hours. Twenty minutes of awkward silence passed before Sam caved, turning the satellite radio on. He shuffled through the channels before settling on the Soul station, automatically starting to hum along. Bucky made no move to change it and remained silent which Sam took as a sign of approval. Or acceptance, at least.

A few songs played before _My Guy_ started filtering through the speakers and Bucky pulled the tiniest of smiles.

“I remember when this song came out,” he murmured.

Sam shot him a look. He obviously knew how old both Steve and Bucky were, but because Steve had been unconscious for the majority of the last few decades, Sam had never really considered how much life Bucky had still lived since 1945. He wasn’t sure how to respond, but Bucky didn’t offer any more thoughts and they both fell silent again.

For as frustrating as Bucky could be, Sam suddenly found himself feeling extremely sympathetic. He had spoken with Steve a handful of times about the adjustment to modern life and the disorientation of waking up years after he’d gone to ‘sleep.’ Steve only had to go through that once, but Bucky was forced in and out of cryo God knows how many times and never had the chance to figure things out or remember who he was before being put under again. And on top of all that, Bucky was still a veteran like the two of them, one who had gotten captured and declared KIA before _Steve_ saved his entire regiment. Sam frowned to himself.

While they were still in the rural areas, every now and then Bucky would quietly point out any horses or cows they passed, but besides that, the rest of the ride was fairly quiet.

Once they got into the city, Sam bit his tongue complaining about the traffic. The last thing he wanted was to say anything Bucky could sass back about. They parked in the museum’s garage, both grumbling at the fee, before heading inside.

“The planetarium show isn’t for another hour,” Bucky said, looking at the ticket in his pocket as they walked through the hallway past the theatre. 

“Let’s go upstairs,” Sam replied.

The excited tone in his voice made Bucky look sharply at him. Sam had a faint smile on his lips as he quickly turned right, making his way towards the stairs, not bothering to wait for a response from Bucky.

Trailing behind, Bucky followed Sam who seemed to know exactly where he was going. He hopped up a back staircase to the second floor and made another immediate right turn, heading straight into the Birds of the World hall. Bucky almost wanted to roll his eyes. Of course.

Sam took his time, spending a few long minutes at each diorama, reading every piece of information associated with them all. Bucky wandered around behind him, skimming the placards and studying the stuffed birds with fleeting interest. Even though Sam drove him absolutely crazy, he had to admit, it was amusing—almost endearing, dare he go that far—seeing him get so excited about something so…ordinary.

Sam was lingering at the Andean Condor exhibit when Bucky stepped quietly up next to him.

“That is one big ass bird,” Bucky murmured.

“Their wingspan can grow over ten feet,” Sam replied. “They use the wind coming off mountains or coastlines to help them stay in the air because they get so heavy.”

Bucky nodded in thought as Sam took one more sweeping gaze at the diorama before moving on.

Following along, Bucky listened as Sam threw out random facts and statistics about each species, speaking up a little louder when there were families and kids close enough to hear. Bucky noticed that one particular young girl had been following them around for the last few minutes. She was wearing a Captain America hoodie.

When they finally exited the hall, lingering in the staircase, the girl had followed them. She put her hands on her hips and looked up at them with narrowed eyes.

“You’re the Falcon, aren’t you? And _you’re_ the Winter Soldier.”

Sam stared back at her, eyebrows raised, amused at the assertiveness of her tone.

Smiling, Bucky knelt down to her eye level. “You can call me Bucky. And this is Sam.” He put his hand out towards her. “What’s your name?”

She shook his hand with more strength than Bucky was expecting and said, “Daisy.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Daisy. So you like Captain America, huh?” Bucky replied, pointing towards her sweatshirt.

Daisy finally pulled her own toothy grin. “Yeah.”

“Me too,” Bucky answered, grinning back.  

Sam couldn’t help but smile, watching the brutal ex-Soviet assassin so gently interact with this eight year old in a museum hallway.

“Well, you _are_ his partner, aren’t you?”

“Sure am,” Bucky said. “And so is Sam.”

Daisy pulled an exasperated face, “No, I mean you’re his _partner_. That’s what my dads told me.”

She pointed behind her, back into the bird hall where two men stood close together a few yards away. The realization of what she was actually asking hit Bucky slowly and his face reddened the slightest bit. Sam looked between him and Daisy, curious to see how he was going to respond.

“O-oh,” Bucky stammered, rubbing a hand against the back of his neck. “Um…” he looked up to Sam who put his hands up and made a ‘don’t look at me’ face.

Clearing his throat, Bucky’s eyes slid from Sam, to the two men who were now watching them and who were clearly a couple. He fixed his gaze to Daisy.

“Yes, I am his…partner.”

A wide smile spread across her face again. “I knew it! My dads said that you can never judge people from the outside and that everyone is allowed to love who they love.”

“Your dads are right,” Bucky replied, chest tightening as the two men approached.

“Daisy,” the taller of the two started sternly, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Are you interrupting these gentlemen?”

“Not a bit,” Sam answered as Bucky finally stood. “Daisy here has been very polite.”

Looking up to her parents, she excitedly told them, “It’s true Papa, what you and Dad said about Captain America and the Win—and Mr. Bucky. They love each other, like you do.” 

They both flushed, looking at each other then to Bucky. The shorter one sputtered, “I’m so sorry, we—”

“Don’t be,” Bucky interrupted, putting a hand up. Smiling down at Daisy, he added, “She’s said nothing wrong.”

“Come on, sweetheart,” the one with his hand on her shoulder said. “Let’s leave these nice men alone.”

“It was very nice to meet you, Daisy,” Bucky said gently.

She smiled. “Nice to meet you too, Mr. Bucky. Would you tell the Captain he’s my favorite Avenger? No offence.”

“Of course,” Bucky responded, chuckling, as the shorter man sighed, embarrassed.

The dads ushered her away, heading up the stairs. With one last look and a little wave, Daisy followed them around the corner and was soon out of sight.

After a few seconds, Sam looked at Bucky with a smug expression. “Well, wasn’t that precious?”

“Shut up,” Bucky grumbled.

Sam continued, kinder, “I mean it, Barnes. You handled that really well.”

Crossing his arms, Bucky replied, “What’d you think I was gonna do?”

“Honestly?” Sam began, snorting a laugh. “I had no idea. Made me a little nervous.”

“I’m not a _complete_ monster,” Bucky mumbled, checking his watch. “Come on, we should get in line for the planetarium.”

Sam quietly followed as Bucky pointedly made his way down the stairs.

The showing was only about half an hour, but Bucky was riveted the entire time. He had always been interested in science and technology, but he could never imagine as a kid the kind of advancements he’d get to witness over his unnaturally long life. It was inspiring. It was hard for Bucky to feel positive about the world with all the evil he knew was in it, but reading and hearing about all the amazing discoveries and inventions that were still taking place gave Bucky a little hope that maybe the world wasn’t all bad.

After a quick lunch at one of the museum cafes, they spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around all four floors of the museum. They talked mainly about whatever they were looking at whether it was the giant whale hanging in the ocean life hall, the dark circular room full of stones and gems, ancient hominid models, or the halls full of dinosaur fossils.

Evening was approaching and the museum was closing soon. Sam and Bucky agreed they were ready to go, but only after buying something silly for Steve from the gift shop. They took advantage of the parking garage staying open and decided to leave the car there and walk somewhere close for a more filling dinner.

Sam was looking at the map on his phone, browsing various restaurants and bars nearby.

“Do you like beer?” Sam asked, glancing up at Bucky who was leaning against a stone wall bordering the edge of Central Park.

“Sure,” he answered.

“There’s a brewery a few blocks west.”

“That works.”

They walked through the increasingly brisk night, weaving through other pedestrians until they reached their destination on the corner of the street. Sam led the way inside and took a seat at the bar. They ordered some wings and fried pickles, both of them choosing a dark stout to sip on.

Sam pulled out his wallet, reaching for his card to open a tab. Watching, Bucky’s eyes found their way to the worn edges of a photo tucked inside and realized upon closer inspection that it was a picture of Sam standing with his arm around the shoulders of another man, both dressed in fatigues. Bucky assumed it was his old Pararescue partner Steve had mentioned a few times.

“I got it,” Bucky interrupted, pulling out his own card to hand to the young bartender.

Sam gave him a suspicious look before sighing, saying, “Thanks, man.”

Bucky shrugged it off, returning his wallet to his back pocket.

Their appetizers came out quickly, each of them happily digging in.

After a few quiet minutes, Bucky suddenly asked, “How long were you active duty for the Air Force?”

Sam looked up, taken off guard. “What?”

“Steve’s mentioned your mission history a few times. Sounds like you’ve saved a lot of people.”

Shrugging, Sam simply said, “Was just doin’ my job.”

“And,” Bucky started tentatively, picking up a slice of fried pickle, “he also mentioned you lost your wingman.”

Sam’s hands stilled bringing a hot wing to his mouth. He thought for a few moments then took a bite, chewing and swallowing before answering.

“Yeah. Riley. He, ah, he was shot down right in front of me. Made the whole idea of continuing active duty feel pretty pointless, to be honest. I’d lost guys I knew before—it happens—but…” he shook his head.

Memories of the war flickered in and out of Bucky’s mind, from shipping out to blowing up HYRDA bases one by one with the Commandos. It felt like a goddamn miracle they had all survived what they did and his thoughts inevitably led to Steve. Bucky would have been devastated if any of the Commandos had been killed in combat, but just the thought of potentially having lost Steve made his stomach turn. As far as he knew, Sam and Riley had met as adults and had a platonic relationship, which made the comparison a little different, but to have that one person who was always by your side suddenly gone? And being forced to helplessly watch it happen?

He tried not to think about Steve watching him fall from the train.

“I’m sorry,” Bucky replied, quiet and earnest.

Sam slowly met Bucky’s stare and he forced a melancholy smile. “Me too.”

Bucky smiled sadly back and held out his glass. “To Riley.”

Looking at him with a surprised and almost cautious expression, Sam raised his as well. “To Riley.”

They clinked their glasses together and each took a long swig. Bucky felt for Sam. Not only has he had to deal with his own issues, coming back to civilian life, but he had made it his mission to help others with their issues too. Bucky couldn’t imagine how difficult it would be to not only live with your own trauma and nightmares, but to openly discuss all the trauma and nightmares of an entire support group full of people. Bucky stubbornly didn’t want to admit it, but maybe he actually respected Sam Wilson.

Each of them ordered a burger and with a full stomach and a few pints later, Sam was tipsy, swaying slightly on his stool. The experimental serum Bucky had been injected with wasn’t quite to the level that Steve’s was, but still, the amount of alcohol that would knock out a normal 250 pound grown man only left Bucky feeling a little buzzed.

“Listen,” Sam started, eyes glassy and slightly unfocused. “I thought Steve was fucking crazy for risking everything he did for you. I was convinced you were a lost cause and would just get us all killed. But seeing how Steve changed when you showed back up in his life—the real you—I’d be a total dick if I didn’t acknowledge that.”

“What d’you mean?” Bucky asked, picking at one of his remaining French fries.  

“It’s so gross,” Sam said dramatically. “I can tell he tries to play it down, but he’s so fucking in love with you. His eyes light up whenever he just _talks_ about you.”

Bucky held back a smile, looking to his hands and almost blushing.

“He’s my friend, man. I trust ‘im and I love ‘im,” Sam continued. “And whether I like you or not, you make him happy. And I gotta respect that.”

Bucky let himself smile, replying, “And whether _I_ like _you_ or not, I know Steve genuinely values your friendship. You were there for him when I couldn’t be and…You’re a good friend to him, Sam. He needs you. I’d be a dick too if I denied him that just because _you_ piss me off sometimes.”

“Y’know,” Sam started unintentionally loud, “I’m only gonna say this _once_ , alright, Barnes? Once.” He put his finger out to accentuate the point. “Maybe—just maybe—you aren’t actually all that bad.”

“Woah, Wilson,” Bucky said playfully, putting his hands up. “You keep giving me glowing compliments like that and it’ll go to my head.”

Sam rolled his eyes, but was grinning the tiniest amount.

“ _Maybe_ ,” Bucky said, long and drawn out, “You aren’t really so bad either.”

They looked at each other for a few moments before Sam slowly held out his hand. Bucky grasped it, giving him a firm and genuine shake.

“Alright,” sighed Bucky. “You ready to head back home?”

Sam nodded, downing the last drops of his beer before sliding off his stool and stretching his back. Bucky followed him out the door and down the street, back to the parking garage. When they reached the car, Bucky held out his hand and Sam immediately dropped the keys into his palm and flopped heavily into the passenger’s seat.

Easing into the driver’s side, Bucky let out a long sigh and turned the key. He switched the headlights on as the radio came back to life, still on the Soul station. Bucky pulled swiftly out of the garage, Sam humming along to the music again.

Unlike Sam, Bucky had no qualms with complaining about the traffic and did so, vehemently, until they were out of the city proper, roads finally thinning out. It was a quiet ride back, but admittedly not as awkward as the trip there. Sam gazed out of the window most of the time, Bucky’s eyes constantly flicking from the road to the rearview and side mirrors checking for tails—an old habit he hadn’t been able to shake yet.

They were deep into the pitch dark tree-lined rural roads, almost back to the facility, when the upbeat intro to [Best of My Love](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPefERS7EZs) burst through the speakers. Sam immediately perked up, increasing the volume and letting out an excited and high pitched “Oooh!”

Bucky stole an amused glimpse at him as Sam’s eyes closed and he started a little dance with arms bent towards his chest and shrugging shoulders.

Sam shamelessly burst into song, “ _Doesn’t take much to make me happy and make me smile with glee. Never, never will I feel discouraged ‘cause our love’s no mystery_.”

Anticipating the forthcoming jump in pitch, Bucky winced as Sam sang, “ _Demonstrating_ love _and affection that you give so openly_.

“ _I like the way you make me feel about you, baby, want the whole wide world to see_!”

Bucky laughed openly, but not unkindly, listening to Sam dive into the chorus with full commitment, still grooving as much as he could buckled in. As the following verses came, Sam tried to sing both the main and backup vocals, notes loudly jumping all over the place. For as ridiculous as it seemed, he didn’t actually sound that bad and Bucky was kind of impressed.

As the song went on, however, the belts came much more frequently with quite the range and Bucky could hear the strain in Sam’s voice as he kept going with just as much fervor as he started with.

“ _Oh, but in my heart, you’re all I need. You for me and me for you. Ohhh yeah, it’s growin’ every day_.”

He followed the vocal slides as well as he could, moving his shoulders with each _doo_ -doo _doo_ -doo, leading to the high and loud “OW… _ah hah ah_ ” when his voice cracked tremendously and Bucky exploded into laughter, tears coming to his eyes. Sam tried to recover, but the rawness of his throat wouldn’t let him hit the notes and he too was overcome with laughter.

As the rest of the song played, they each tried to calm down, but Sam kept trying—and failing—to sing along and it only made both of them laugh harder. Bucky had to fight to keep his eyes clear and on the road. When the song finally ended, they both let out long, giggly sighs, catching their breaths. Sam coughed a few times.

Neither of them said anything as the last minutes of the drive wore on. Soon, the looming white and glass structures of the compound came into view and Bucky steered them along the drive and into the garage, the door opening once it sensed a Stark company car approaching. Bucky parked in the spot they had left from and they both slid out of their seats, tired. It was almost eleven. Quickly scanning the tarmac, Bucky noticed that the quinjet Steve had taken to DC that morning was back.

They made their way to the elevator and pressed the buttons for their respective floors. The elevator quickly ghosted to its first stop, silver doors whooshing open.

“Thanks for driving back,” Sam croaked. “And for dinner.”

“Sure,” Bucky answered.

Hesitating, Sam slowly asked, “I didn’t have a totally awful day, did you?”

“Nah. Not _totally_.”

They smiled at each other and nodded in acknowledgement before Sam started down the hall to his room.

The elevator doors slid shut and brought Bucky up to the top floor. Unlocking his and Steve’s apartment, Bucky noticed the main lights were off, but the bedroom was letting out a long rectangle of warm light. Kicking off his boots, Bucky suppressed a yawn and wandered inside.

Steve was lying in bed, reading something on his phone. His eyes lingered there for a second before brightly meeting Bucky’s.

“Hey, sugar,” he said, smiling and setting his phone on the nightstand.

“Hey,” Bucky replied, walking to Steve’s side of the bed and leaning in for a kiss.

“How was your day?” Steve asked, watching Bucky make his way to the closet and begin to undress.

Pulling his shirt over his head, Bucky tried not to smile. “Fine. For a day with _Wilson_.”

Steve let out a sigh, rubbing tiredly at his eyes. Bucky stepped out of his pants, remembering that he had rolled up Steve’s museum gift and put it in a large thigh pocket.

“Oh,” Bucky said, pulling it out and making his way to the bed in his underwear. “We got you this.”

He tossed the fabric to Steve who quickly caught it and held it up, rolled out, in front of him.

“It’s a dinosaur tank top,” Bucky grinned. “And it says ‘prehistoric’ on it. Get it? Because you’re so old?”

“Ha ha,” Steve deadpanned, setting the shirt down and looking at Bucky. “Thank you, but you do know you’re older than me, right?”

Bucky ignored the last comment as he went into the bathroom to brush his teeth.

It wasn’t until they were spooning in bed together, lights out, that Bucky finally asked, “How was _your_ day?”

“Fine,” Steve replied, nuzzling his face into Bucky’s hair.

“Is Doom up to anything we need to be concerned about?”

“Nope,” Steve yawned. “It ended up being fine—taken care of.”

“Really?” Bucky mused, playing with Steve’s fingers brushing against his chest. “Because this morning you said you were going to investigate MODOK.”

He could feel Steve’s body stiffen the slightest bit and sensed the flushing in his ears and cheeks.

“I—they, uh…”

Bucky rolled over to face Steve, giving him a fake glare. “Did you plan this whole thing just to get me and Sam to spend time together?”

“I mean, not initially. I got the planetarium tickets with the intention of going with you, then the idea just struck me.”

“So what did you _actually_ do all day?”

Steve smirked. “I did fly to DC. Then Fury and I just got lunch and I came back home.”

“You’re a little shit, you know that?” Bucky teased.

Steve hummed in agreeance. “But I’m _your_ little shit, aren’t I?”

Letting out an exasperated breath, Bucky’s eyes roamed over Steve’s face. Instead of voicing a response, Bucky put a hand on the side of Steve’s neck and pulled him in for a sweet kiss.

“Goodnight,” Bucky whispered, playfully stern.

“’Night, Buck.” Steve gave him another quick kiss before settling back onto his pillow. “I appreciate you, you know that?”

Pulling a small smile, Bucky said, “I know. But thanks for saying it.”

Steve smiled lovingly back before both readjusted, closing their eyes and slowly drifting off to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> writing out song lyrics that aren't necessarily "real words" is so awkward and feels weird every time, but i tried lol


End file.
